Neopaganism: Encyclopedia II - Neopaganism - Historical sources

Neopaganism - Historical sources

Many Neopagans and Neopagan traditions attempt to incorporate historical religions and mythologies into their beliefs and practices, often emphasizing the hoary age of their sources; thus, Wicca in particular is sometimes referred to by its proponents as the "Old Religion", a term popularised by Margaret Murray in the 1920s, while Germanic Neopaganism is referred to as Forn Sed, "the Old Way". Such emphasis on the antiquity of religious tradition is not particular to Neopaganism, and is found in many other religions, compare for example the terms Purana, Sanatana Dharma, and the emphasis on the antiquity of the Ancient Egyptian sources of the Hellenistic Mystery religions. Antiquity of source suggests authenticity and authority to many believers, be they Christian, Mormon, or any faith.

Some claims of continuity between Neopaganism and older forms of Paganism have been shown to be spurious, or outright forgery, as in the case of Iolo Morganwg's Druid's Prayer. Wiccan beliefs of an ancient monotheistic Goddess were inspired by Marija Gimbutas's description of Neolithic Europe; factual historical validity is disputed by many scholars, including historian Ronald Hutton. Most neo-pagans now more cautiously cite as precedents local folk healers/small groups, and a plurality of ancient "Goddess traditions", among others.

However, while Neopagans draw from old religious traditions, they also adapt them. The mythologies of the ancient civilizations are not generally considered to be literally factual or historical in the sense that the Bible is claimed historical by fundamentalists Christians; nor are they considered to be scripture, as most Neopagans are resistant to the concept.

The mythological sources of Neopaganism are many, including Celtic, Norse, Greek, Roman, Sumerian, Egyptian and others. Some groups focus on one tradition; others draw from several or many — for example, Doreen Valiente's text "The Charge of the Goddess" used materials from The Gospel of Aradia by Charles Leland (1901), and Aleister Crowley's writings.

Some Neopagans also draw inspiration from living traditions, including Christianity, Buddhism and others. Since most Neopaganism does not demand exclusivity, Neopagans can and do sometimes practice other faiths in parallel.

As there is no Neopagan dogma, nor any authority to deem a source apocryphal, Neopaganism has been notably prone to fakelore, especially in recent years, as information and misinformation alike have been spread on the Internet and in published material.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Historical sources", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki